Those were the screams, the cries, and yells I heard from several citizens arranged in a small group from my hometown. They'd found out about my abilities, and not that they were displeased with them, they just wanted to use them to their advantage. They wanted to place me in some sort of torture chamber called a lab and turn me into a lab rat. Run experiments on me, rearrange my externals and internals, play around with my body as if I were a doll without life; And worst of all, corrupt my precious gifts. Was it my fault I was born like this? And without parents and any family really to run to to protect you, all you can do is run.

And so that's what I did. I ran. I am 12 years old. And my name is Arcadia. And I'm a psychic.

And just in every dramatic movie that has ever been made, whenever the siege to find the prized possession, me here, it would rain. And that's what it was doing. It was raining and thundering and lightning outside. I had to keep running, I didn't care that my feet were weighed down by the mud attached to the bottom of my shoes. I didn't care that my limbs were all rubbery and about to give in. And I didn't care that my lungs, my whole chest was heaving and my respiratory system was about to collapse as well. I couldn't take anymore, but I had to. I kept running. Tripping over my own two feet and the sounds of their chants following straight behind to.

Eventually, a ways away from the town I originally hailed from, I found a small cave. From the storm and the people trying to find and seize me, it'd be a good place to seek refuge. And soon I found myself running into the rocky fortress and sitting on the floor under the darkness that concealed my form. I panted and wheezed a little from all the running. Finally, refuge had come to me. For now.

I looked around. I could only see darkness. What was this cave? I sneezed and it echoed. I must have caught a cold from all that running in the rain and spending days outside running at a time. But, I got to rest now and that's all that mattered. When I was sure I could stand, I did again and began to walk further into the cave as to not be discovered by my hunters. My eyes wandered.

before long we came to a ravine. there wwas a metal bridge and in the light of dawn we couldn't see the other end. well... this will take us to the windmill... but... we note there are puddles of blue goo all over... looks like someoe came here withing the last day... meaning the cave is already open... okay we go east from here and by the time the sun is up we will be at the cave. i talk to myself and you at the same time thinking out loud. somehow i knew what this world looked like tho i had never seen a map. hey.. arcadia... did you feel a pulse in your brain when we were talking to zebu?

I said back, not exactly happy that he had to be the one to heal me. Granted, I was grateful to have him along with me for this trip and I was even more thankful for having made a new friend in my hellish idea of a world. I continued walking with him, not really willing to talk. And thus I buried myself in my mind again, thinking about that boy in my vision and the ice wall back at Zebu's.

we come to a gorge and we are at the bottom. looking at the base of a mountain. on a large side there is a windmill that is spinning and ahead a recently opened cave. i walk forward and poke my head in before walking in. once inside you see shafts of light illuminating this red walled cave. ahead was a large green slime with snail eyes and a large mouth that dripped green ooze. i charged a blast of air four times to hurl for sliightly sharper blades of air to kill it. it left behind four coins. and i walked on turning right around a bend. wow... this cave is brighter than zebu's cave... and made of different stuff too....

I just kept walking with him and looking around this interesting cave. How come I'd never been here before? I guess I just didn't know that these parts of the world existed. After all my knowledge was vast, but as vast as it was it was also limited. I'd only dreamed up these sorts of places after reading a good book perhaps.

Our steps echoed in the cave and I focused myself on different ideas in my head. I deemed now not the time or the place to think about such issues like the boy in my vision or that ice wall. It just seemed random, random really wasn't my style. But that slug, that's a creature I felt I've seen before. Was it possible that I constructed this place inside my mind even before I knew existed or visited here? But how, even if I had no knowledge of it could it have come to my head...?

"Intriguing..." My voice trailed and echoed slightly as I spoke within this spacious dwelling. Come to think of it, I had seen this place before. Had it been here all this time?

what is? i turn to look at her as we reach a fork. there was a path going down and a path continuing onward. the path down was dark and the path ahead had another turn this one to the lefts but there was evidence of a rockslide.

"I've seen this place before... but I've never been here. I thought, quite honestly, it was just a product of my imagination or some... design I schemed in my head. The image of it came to me, I had no idea this existed. I've crafted stories around this place before, none of them really actually would have seemed interesting to anyone but me. But, this is something else. I don't know the infrastructure of this place, but I do know 'it'."

I looked around and smiled.

"Strange, don't you think?" I hoped he wouldn't answer that. And just like that, all of my subliminal anger disappeared, taken with this new venue it seemed.

yeah it is... zebu has that effect on people. kinda a weird old guy. but he is powerful. I i turn down the lower path and and it spirals in darkness to a small dead end with a shaft of light illuminating a skeleton guarding a box. It doesn't move as it is dead and i look in it as my ears perk up. It is apparent i have a fondness for treasure. I open the box and see a green branch and it has four leaves. Sweet this herb is great for making poultices for healing. my ears go back to normal and i seem disappointed as i turn from this dead end to go the way we didn't in the upper level of the cave.

"A fondness for treasure. I hope that value within you is wise. It can corrupt some men, and well, it makes the kind I descend from... rather.. greedy." It was apparent I DIDN'T really possess a thing for treasure. But treasure was treasure and if you found something of value to you, well, more power to you.

I sighed and followed him. That was the thing about me, I was psychic and treated so differently, and yet I still counted myself as human. I didn't know why but I had always thought of myself like that and it was difficult for me to distinguish the difference. But that was another thought process for another day. And I continued walking with Brandon to wherever next we were going on this trip.

if it is in the walls or on someone's hand or laying around ill leave it behind . but if it is in a box or in evil possesion ill take it. i think trewasure is cool and should be admired where it belongs not in someone's possesion. i smile and as i turn the corner a pair of red slimes drop down on top of us and infect us with poison. i kill mine and fall down from how strong the poison is.

"Wha! What are these things?" I cried, a little out of character, may I say, for myself. I looked at their forms and saw they were red slugs. Immediately, and crawling because it had just touched me, I picked it off my flesh and tossed it aside.

But then I felt faint and was starting to sweating, and my body hurt. The pain was beginning to spread and it wasn't good. Had I been... wait think Arcadia... think.

"Wait, I've seen these things before.. in visions...I always thought they were just a part of my .... story I needed to make up... but they're real.. I called them.. 'The Ruby Virus'. As they were red and..." I cringed and fell to my knees. "Poisonous..." I cringed. This was almost unbearable. But, what could I do? It took me all of a moment to realize there was something I could do for both myself and for Brandon, but it'd be risky... as I'd never done it before and it would expend a large amount of my powers. But it was a risk I needed to take. I closed my eyes and as best I could through the poisonous setting in my body, calmed myself and centered my mind.

Then I commanded my powers, willed them to gather up all the poison in my body and focus it in one section. Once it did that, I'd need to hold it there and find some way to free it from my bloodstream. I'd need to focus it in my hands and to my fingertips and drip it out. That was the only possible way I'd get it out of me. And so that's what I did. I willed it out of my fingers. And slowly it began to drip out of me. And this began to affect me more too, even bigger cringes from all the pain and energy expended were being felt, but I couldn't give up. I was saving myself and my friend, and this needed to be done.

My body with her help pushed the poison out and i pant shaking and i kill another about to hit us. They each drop two coins that was 6 and i thank you. This planet... its not the same as it used to be. something happened when i was alseep. I move on moving from the dead end even tho i feel a breeze from the other side. We walk further down the cavern to see a green human sized drake. It moved slow and ran at us raising a claw to attack and i slash it knocking it back then build power to hit it with an air blade. It dropped 6 coins too and there was a group of four of the green slimes. all lined up and looking pretty they seemed to guard another downward slope of the cave. i slew them with three charges this time and smiled. Hey arcadia. after this cave ill beable to fire a sharp blade. with the wind.

i hear a growling and look up to see a large group of 20 of those green maws drop down surrounding us. we stumpled onto their nest and they weren't happy Arcadia... how many of those psychic blasts can you do before you need rest? the maws closed in slowly as i held power in my sword. also overhead there were some bats flying around

in another part of the cave there was a window on the air showing what the bats see. we were on it. a deep voice was heard and a rush of wind as the dark figure teleported closer. "more victems. when thye come here i shall drik them dry."

"I don't need rest. I'm psychic and it's intrinsically built within my brain. Biologically, I couldn't stop being psychic even if I tried."

I stated and continued walking. I sensed someone up ahead and then there were more enemies to deal with in front of us. I blinked and checked out these new creatures. I looked around, I'd seen them before too. I hadn't really thought of a name for them, but I do remember seeing them briefly and then, I had another vision. I stared into space and my eyes went empty as if I was watching something inside my head. And I was, these visions were like mini movies only I was able to see.

And in the vision I saw these creatures dancing and clearing around us, significant of a battle we'd won and in the small distance linear to our position was a shadowy, shady figure with a glare that would make anyone a little uneasy. And I sensed a great power coming from him. And that's when I woke up, I couldn't see anymore. I held my head, coming back from that psychic session and recovered soon after that.

another vision? i glanced back... well lets hurry and finish these guys off we need the money for staying a the inn and bribes for information. i let loose the blade i was storing and charged another now with practice i had made even sharper blades that took two to kill a single one of these maws. and my timing was getting better as well i could fire them faster despite the charge time being the same.

"Yeah and it was of us winning this battle with these little green creatures and finding someone up ahead. I've seen this too in dreams and visions in the past. I just didn't know what to call them, and then there's a stronger enemy up ahead. I don't know much about him, but his gaze looks scary."

I was slowly recovering. I needed to get myself together. Come on Arcadia, you've got bigger and badder things to worry about. And I positioned myself for battle.

i grinnded I love strog enemies. hey i just learned an new trick... i bring my blad close and start spinning th i swing it spinning towards the maws killing five on my first his and moving into five more before they dispersed and leapt to attack us both.

now do that mass psychic blast that hit me hard. it might be enough to kill the rest of them. i braced myself and readied for the blast. now that i knew what it was i could perhaps learn how to block it.

i sit down and eat a leaf from the herb to recover and i get up and walk to the downward path. it spiraled to a level below the last and it branched three wasy and the middle went to a branched dead end. on instinct i walked to the end and turned right to a stair like formation going down. once there i came across a chest on an altar. i opening and my ears perk up. AWWWWWEE YEEEAAAH i got me the ball of wind. now my blades will slice through anything in here and i can clear rockslides. i turn back and go up to face a stone golemi charge my power twice and fire a huge gust of wind only to push the golem back. hmm it will save time to use the first powrlevel of the sword. i fire air blades as soon as i can to reduce the golem t o dust.

sweet, i love this i go in the same direction to a rockslide and charge power twice and blast hole in the wall of rock to find a chest. i open it to find a dried sprig of a ranchy plant. hey this works on poison. i go back to the first branch and i pass it. then up the spiral and to the first cave in. blowing it away we come to four drakes. hey you take these out maybe think of a new trick.